Scott Besent, founder and CEO of global macro investment firm Key Square Group, was a key economic policy adviser and fundraiser for the Trump campaign.
Extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is a top economic priority, and failure to preserve the tax cuts will wreak havoc on the middle class, according to President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department. Scott Besant.
“This is the most important economic issue today,” Bessent, a hedge fund billionaire from South Carolina, told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday during his confirmation hearing.
“If we do not renew the extension, we will face an economic disaster,” Besant said. “As always, with financial instability, that falls on the middle and working class.”
Besant warned that there would be a “huge” tax increase on the middle class if the tax cuts ended.
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Scott Besant, founder and CEO of Key Square Group LP, during an interview in Washington, D.C. on June 7, 2024. (Stephanie Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Trump approved the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 during his first term, but many of the reforms included are set to expire in 2025. Americans for ProsperityA grassroots network founded by billionaire Koch Brothers claims that millions of Americans will face an increase of more than $1,500 in their taxes next year if the cuts are not renewed.
Agence France-Presse Announced this week It is spending $20 million to launch a large-scale campaign urging an extension of the Trump tax cuts.
But critics of Trump’s tax plan, including Democratic lawmakers like Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and groups like Center for American ProgressThey argue that the cuts have only benefited the wealthy and claim that the benefits have failed to reach ordinary workers.
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Scott Besent, founder and CEO of Key Square Group LP, in an interview during the Republican National Convention near the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Vincent Alban/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
However, Besant said Trump and his administration will create a “golden age” of economic prosperity for all Americans.
“Today, I believe President Trump has a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans,” Besant said in his opening remarks.
“We must secure vulnerable supply chains to strategic competitors, and we must carefully deploy sanctions as part of a whole-of-government approach to addressing our national security requirements,” Besant added. “It is critically important that we ensure that the US dollar remains the world’s reserve currency.”
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Trump’s economic plan includes extending the 2017 tax cuts and imposing customs duties ranging from 10% to 20% on all imported goods. For countries like China, this number can reach 60%.
Basant, which was mentioned above He authored an op-ed for Fox News Digital In support of the use of tariffs, he expressed support for the Trump administration’s use of tariffs as a tool in multiple exchanges with lawmakers. For example, Besant disagreed with Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, who asserted that the American people would “get hit” by tariffs on all imported goods.
Picent answered questions from lawmakers on a range of topics and emphasized that he would not support increasing the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 since 2009.
Besant said he believes the issue is “more of a state and regional issue” after Sen. Bernie Sanders, R-Vermont, asked whether lawmakers could count on the hedge fund billionaire to support efforts to raise the federal minimum wage.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent from Vermont, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., October 6, 2021. (Stephanie Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Senator, I think the minimum wage is more of a state and regional issue,” Besant said.
“Don’t you think we should change the federal minimum wage?” Sanders asked. “Ours is $7.25 an hour.”
“No, sir,” Besant replied.
In addition, Besant said that he will take strict action against this matter Russia and impose tougher sanctions To end the war in Ukraine.
“If any Russian Federation official is following this confirmation hearing, they should know that if my appointment is approved, and if President Trump requests it as part of his strategy in the Ukraine war, I will be 100% engaged in my position,” he added. “Lift the sanctions,” Besant said.
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Sin. Lindsay Graham, RSCPisant addressed lawmakers Thursday, urging them to support his nomination based on his qualifications, even if they disagreed with him on some policy issues.
“This man has succeeded at everything he has tried to do,” Graham said. “He’s worked really hard. And why did President Trump choose him? He believes President Trump’s economic agenda is right for this country, and he wants to help President Trump succeed.”
The Department of the Treasury is responsible for managing federal finances and oversees agencies that include the IRS.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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